


The War Through the Lens

by ekreider



Category: Soldier girls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-11 09:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10461735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekreider/pseuds/ekreider
Summary: The Continuation after Silver Stars. Rio trains her soldiers while dealing with the army's punishment fro not selling war bonds: a camera following her every move





	1. Chapter 1

The War Through the Lens  
Ch. 1

To say Sergeant Rio Richlin was not happy about the replacement private coming up to her was an understatement. She was furious to begin with when the private came up to her. Two sergeants had already told her today that they didn’t agree with how she was running her incredibly green platoon, and she had to shut them up before any of her eleven boys heard. She was lost in thought, trying to come up with something that would get the men to shut up when he disrespectfully addressed her.  
“Do you know where Sergeant Richlin is?”  
She was caught off guard, a rarity these days. “Excuse me?”  
“Sergeant Richlin. Do you know where he is?”  
She was bewildered, everyone knew who she was. If not, they certainly knew that Richlin was, in fact, female. Being the only girl with a silver star and sergeant stripes will get you recognition from a lot of people. Beyond that, her sergeant stripes were sown directly onto her jacket and he had not saluted her.  
“You’re looking at her. Now why don’t you show some respect and tell me who the hell you are.”  
He snapped a hasty salute, and started to introduce himself, “I’m Private— “  
“And why the hell do you have cameras following you?”  
“I –” he looked bewildered.  
“Are you deaf now?”  
“No ma’am.”  
“Sergeant. Sergeant, boy. I am not your mama, nor am I a civilian.”  
“Yes, Sergeant. I am Private Harris Melwin. I have been given orders to report to your platoon and to bring around the news cameraman.”  
Sergeant Richlin did not look amused, “Why are soldiers now becoming the press?”  
“The higher ups thought it would be good for the civilians to see daily life as a soldier.”  
Richlin frowned, “Where are your orders?”  
“Excuse me?”  
“Written orders. I’m not taking you until I have a written command to.”  
To be fair, Rio had been told to expect another private for her squad, but if there was any way to get rid of the Private and the cameras she might as well take it. She knew why they were here, why the eye of the camera followed her every move. The army wanted to show off its new toy and had been terribly upset that Richlin didn’t want to play dress up. This, Richlin figured, was what the army considered the next best thing.  
“…May I ask why?”  
“Because the lack of respect obviously shows that you’ve never been on the battlefield, as does the way you handle that M1. You’ve never shot at a person, let alone killed them. I’ve been training my boys for two weeks now, and I don’t have time to pull you along. I’ve already whipped them into shape, taught them everything I can, and have beaten respect into their very souls. I’m not letting a press release and a moronic private blow the head off one of my highly trained soldiers.  
“Furthermore, the fact that you have a camera following you around is a liability. One I do not appreciate. Civilians on the battlefield are always bad luck, and civilians playing dress up as soldiers are bad enough, which is what you are. When you have written orders, come find me, and try saluting next time, dumbass.”  
*&*  
The next day Rio was a little better mood wise, regardless of a mild hangover, but it was soured by the young man and the cameraman coming up to her again. The laugh that her corporal had choked from her lips quickly died.  
“Damn.”  
“What?” Evan asked, turning to look where her eyes were targeting her next victim, “That the Private?”  
“That’s him alright. And he’s holding written orders.”  
She kicked off the truck she was leaning on and threw her cigarette in the dirt, storming over to meet the boy halfway. He quickly saluted her and handed over the orders. She quickly read them over before passing them over to Evan, who was standing over her shoulder.  
“Looks like I’m stuck with you,” she said.  
“Looks about right ma’am—I mean, Sergeant.”  
Rio breathed in deeply calming herself. She needed another cigarette. And a drink. Maybe even two. The camera eye still gleamed at her, watching unblinkingly.  
“Let’s take a walk, Private.”  
They walked off, leaving the corporal to explain Rio’s absence to the team.  
Rio put her arm on the boy’s shoulder even though he was slightly taller than her, “I know you’ve never killed a man, so let me fill you in on what is going to happen to you. At first, you’re going to want to shoot, because he is your enemy, he’s a Kraut or a Jap, and he has no morals. But then you’ll see the man you have been trained to kill and all that will fly out of the window. Why? Because now there’s not an ideal in front of you, it’s flesh and blood. It’s a pumping heart and a thinking brain. You won’t want to pull the trigger. That’s where my job comes in. I’ll yell and I’ll curse, and, in the end, you’ll pull the trigger. He’ll drop, you’ll pick another target and move on, but that man won’t. He’ll stay with you for the rest of your life. Do you understand what I’m saying?”  
“I’m ready, Sarge.”  
“If you say that then you aren’t,” she said, disappointed and angry.  
They were quiet for a second, “If I’m not, then why don’t you give me some advice?”  
She stopped for a second, putting her hands in her pockets, “Got a cig?”  
Even though he saw some sticking out of her breast pocket, he gave her one. She took it, lit it, and then pulled a flask out of her jacket. She took a swig, replaced it, and continued walking.  
“You’ll find an officer that you trust pretty quickly. Not me because I hate you, but stick to that officer like glue. Stick to sergeants, but if one isn’t available a seasoned Private. Never expect anything higher than a sergeant to see you as anything other than a statistic, COs are not good parents, so don’t choose them.”  
“Alright, what else?”  
She turned towards him again, stopping him with a soft hand to his chest. It would have seemed like a nice gesture had it not been for the cigarette that came very close to burning him.  
“There will come a time when you want to be a hero. Don’t. Keep your head low, do what you have to and not anything else. Someone gets dragged out of their hole and you think you can save them, don’t do it.”  
“I feel like others would disagree with you.”  
“I’m assuming those others haven’t been bathed in someone’s brain matter because their head got blown off by a well-thrown grenade.”  
“…I’d assume not.”  
She turned like she was going to walk off without him, but looked at him one more time. She dug around in her pack and pulled out a bar from her pack, “Eat this. It doesn’t taste good, so eat it quickly, but eat it.”  
He took it, “Yes, Sarge. Thanks, Sarge.”  
Richlin smiled bitterly, “Don’t thank me yet.”  
*&*  
Harris jumped at the feeling of a rough hand clapping down on his shoulder, “Harris, right?”  
“Yeah,” Harris said to the man with the Southern accent.  
“Corporal Evan Blakely.”  
“Nice to meet you.”  
The camera man who hadn’t been rolling started to.  
“I see you’ve already made friends with the sergeant.”  
“I’m not sure you could say that.”  
Evan smiled, “Rio’s a hard ass. She’s stubborn and protective. It’s what makes her good at her job. I was thrilled when I got assigned to her platoon. I read all about her, from her first news clipping to the hundreds of press releases when she got the star. I’ve followed her since she was a Private, like you. Now, she’s my sergeant and I’m her Corporal.”  
There was a lull before Harris got up the courage, “Where are you from exactly?”  
“Just south of Atlanta. Where are you from?”  
“D.C.”  
Evan’s smile dropped. He looked at the cameraman and back at the young man, “You’re an assets man, aren’t you?”  
Harris was familiar with the term. It meant that he could easily rise through the ranks using assets, people he knows in the army.  
“My dad is an CO.”  
“Jeez, do yourself a favor: don’t tell Rio. She hates those types. I’m assuming that’s why you got the camera?”  
“Yeah. And this position. My dad said, ‘I got you a place in Richlin’s platoon. Good sergeant, even better person.’ I’m not exactly getting that impression.”  
Evan smiled, “That’s because you’re looking in from the outside, my friend. Come on, I’m starved and one of the cooks owes me a favor.”  
“Ah, no thanks,” he took the bar that Rio gave him out of his pocket and started to open it, “I’ve got something.”  
“You do realize those will give you the runs, right? Everyone knows that. Even us Greenies.”  
Harris looked up, shocked, “What?”  
“Like, really, really bad runs. Especially if you eat them fast.”  
“Sergeant Richlin gave it to me, though!”  
Evan shrugged, “Sarge likes to test her soldiers. She’s tested all of us. Should have seen the first week. I thought people were going to put a bullet through their foot to keep from running another mile. That week was all about respect.”  
“And what does this test have to with respect?”  
Evan laughed, “That one wasn’t. That was a test to see how much you know about army life, and you took it from her. So, you failed.”  
“Terrific.”


	2. The War Through the Lens Ch2

The War Through the Lens Ch 2

“Do you think he went through boot camp?” Rio asked Evan, still staring at the boy in front of them struggling to do pushups.  
“Aw, come on, Sarge. Everyone has to go through boot camp!” Evan turned back at Harris, who had collapsed on the ground as the other soldiers continued their pushups. “… They have to…right?”  
They both tilted their heads, studying the Greenie, “He’ll be lucky to live through the first battle.”  
“Don’t say that.”  
“Do you think they’ll keep the camera here if he’s dead?” they both turned to look at the camera and their gaze was returned by the one unblinking stare of the lens. The cameraman had definitely just caught their whole conversation.   
“Maybe,” Evan said, figuring the best way to get around the awkwardness of being listened to was to pretend it didn’t bother him, even though it clearly did, “Why did they pick Harris is he’s not the best example of one?” Evan was apparently a nervous talker because he continued to answer his own question, “I mean, I guess they probably wouldn’t pick the best soldier if they really wanted to showcase exactly what it was like for us.”  
“People over in the States don’t know shit about the war.” Rio said, quoting a girl drunk at a bar one night, “They have no idea how bad it is and I wouldn’t be surprised if the army pulled us out of actual combat to make sure that people back home won’t know.  
“My guess is that they didn’t know he was so bad. His boot camp sergeant probably didn’t want to be the one to tell his father that his son isn’t a natural soldier. Just a little white lie and then they thought he’d be good to put a camera on. Harris was just too clueless to figure out exactly what it was they wanted him to do.”  
Evan thought over what she had said, then stopped breathing for a second to look over at her. She smiled slightly at him, “Yes, I know whose son Harris is. And I know you told him not to tell me.”  
Evan nodded guiltily, “Sorry, ma’am.”  
“Don’t apologize about that. You picked out me out as a risk to your fellow soldier and did everything in your power to protect him from me. I could preach a hundred sermons on protectiveness and not get the same result from some of soldiers. It’s admireable.”  
“Thank you, ma’am.”  
Rio sent him a rare proud smile. A smile that made her look more like a mom welcoming her son off the football field than a sergeant teaching her soldier how to survive.  
The moment was quickly ruined by her turning away and yelling, “Melwin! Look alive!”  
*&*  
Church had gotten slightly better since Rio had gotten her boys. She had always had to go, but mostly she had just stuck to the back and had tried not to fall asleep. Now though, now she watched and listened as the boys sang and some even swayed during the songs. She kind of liked it. Melwin added to it though. The boy couldn’t shoot, run, fight, or do anything to, quite literally, save his life, but man could he sing. She sat behind him and the small church the army had taken over seemed to push his voice back towards her.  
When she ran into Frangie the next time, she told her about him. Actually, they were here because of Melwin. He had somehow managed to make the butt of his M1 jolt back into his jaw when he shot.  
“Stupider than all get out, but he’s got a good singing voice,” Rio said to her when they sat Melwin down on the chair.  
Frangie laughed, she had a good laugh, and turned back to her patient, “Mind if I look?”  
Melwin seemed hesitant to let the black woman look at his jaw, but the look that his sergeant sent to him over Frangie’s shoulder seemed to convince him that it would just be better if he didn’t complain.  
Despite missing one finger, Frangie’s grip was gentle. She prodded his jaw with great care, looked at her supplies for a second before picking something up, she looked back at Rio for a second, “Have you heard from Rainy recently?”  
“Not besides the occasional waves when she goes by. Usually I hear ‘hey, little shit!’ and I know Rainy saw me. Why?”  
“You haven’t heard? Apparently, they’re trying to get her to take up another mission.”  
“…Like her Italy one?”  
“I think so. Rumor has it: it’s worse.”  
Melwin looked up at his sergeant as Frangie cleaned the cuts on his jaw. She seemed tired and wary, but mostly concerned. Concerned for her friend, concerned for her boys, concerned for the war effort, even concerned for the people waiting for the US in France. He wondered how it would feel to have all of that weight on top of you, with the added pressure of being a woman in what was considered a man’s job.  
“There’s nothing we can do for her. She couldn’t be persuaded not to do take the mission if we beat her upside the head with a plaque that said ‘YOU DON’T WANT THE MISSION’ written on it. She wouldn’t let us help anyway.”  
Frangie finished on Melwin and let out a deep breath, “Hell hath no fury like a soldier scorned.”  
“I do believe you are correct, Doc.”  
*&*  
Rainy found her the next day. Her hair had grown out a little longer from where it had been shaved off and her uniform fit a little better. She didn’t say anything, just walked up from behind Rio and stood by her side, watching Rio’s boys preform yet another practice beach landing.  
“You look good,” Rio began, “Although I don’t suppose this is a social call.”  
Rainy didn’t say anything.  
“See that boy right there? The one tripping over air? That’s Colonel Melwin’s son.”  
“The deserter?”  
“Yep. He came back though. Now he’s trying to recover his reputation.”  
“That why you have a camera following you?”  
“Naw. The camera is there because I told the army it could fug its war bonds.”  
“They gonna let you back into the fight with the civilian?”  
“I just came back from a battle meeting so I’m assuming so.”  
“What are you?”  
“Third wave.”  
“Damn.”  
“Yeah… MELWIN! YOU CLOG THAT GUN I’LL USE IT TO CLOG YOUR ASSHOLE, YOU HEAR ME?! Sorry. That kid ain’t worth a damn.”  
Rainy offered Richlin a cigarette and a small smile, “Sergeant suits you, Rio.”  
“Maybe, maybe not. The other day, caught the boys using their guns like those little canes people dance with.” Rainy laughed as Rio took her M1 in both hands and danced with it. Rio smiled for a second, before getting really serious, “Rainy. These boys are greener than all get out, and they’re going into this landing first thing.”  
“What’s the probability?”  
“They think about half will get through it.”  
“Shit.”  
“Rainy,” Rio looked at her imploringly, almost desperate for some advice, “Most of these boys won’t make it through the landing. Do I tell them? Do I tell them that their lives could end in a couple of days? Do I let them write home to their families telling them goodbye or do I not tell them at all? I’ve never had to handle this. Never been in charge of…”  
Rio shook her head.  
Rainy looked thoughtful for a second, “Would you want to know? When you were a private, would you want to know that you had a good chance of getting killed in the next battle?”  
Rio thought for a long moment. The silence seeped in through every crevice. And then, “My first battle was a beach landing. Did I ever tell you that? We came up and first thing first the person next to me gets shot. I spent the rest of the fight basically bathed in his blood… I was so nervous going in though. I kept wondering if I was going to be brave and fight or be gutless and cower. I suppose if I knew the chances were slim I would have been even more nervous. Probably would have gotten myself killed.”  
“And what do we call those who keep soldier alive?”  
“Honey, we call them sergeants,” Rio smiled, remembering the words that had swayed her away from skirts and war bonds and adoring crowds. “So, I don’t tell them. Half of us get through. What then? The next battle and the next?”  
Rainy looked down for a moment, crossed her arms, and turned to fully face Rio, “You might want to put your boys through another practice.”  
Rio almost grimaced, noticing Rainy’s ‘get down to business’ face, “Blakely! Take them through as many trials as it takes for Melwin to stop tripping out of the boat! And – hey! You little shits, I’ll make you run a mile if I hear another complaint! Damn sons of bitches!”  
Rio takes the cigarette that had been hanging unlit from her fingers and lights it. Next, she takes the flask and drains some of it, offering the remains to Rainy, who declines. Yes, this surely is the business side of the call.   
“Alright, what?”  
“Don’t ask how we got the intel, but we think we’ve found a small internment camp not far from the landing space, maybe two days walk. Headquarters wants me to go and sort out what is actually going on. Most of the Jews in Occupied France have gone radio silent, off the map. Sources say those internment camps are why.”  
“What is it you’re asking, Rainy?”  
“They want me to take a platoon through hostile territory, take the camp, find out what’s going on there, and report back.”  
“Oh. Is that all?” Rio said sarcastically.  
“Rio. I’m serious. We both know why they asked me, but I need someone I can trust. I know you, I may not know your boys, but I know you and how you’ll run your platoon. Will you come with me? Will you get me to Hell by going through it?”  
The freckled-faced girl looked back at the boys, then at the woman in front of her, “Two conditions: First, we need another platoon, one that merges well with mine once we lose half our people.”  
“The 119th.”  
“Sergeant Dain Sticklin and Corporal Jack Stafford. That’s one.”  
“The second?”  
“Well, like you said, we’re going through hostile territory. The way I see it, with the two of us we’re like Silver Stars Squared or some shit, but my boys are gonna get hurt and I only do the best.”  
“You want to get Frangie and cube it?”  
“Oh yeah, we’re cubin’ this shit.”  
“So, basically we’re getting Kasserine Pass back together.”  
“We’re getting Kasserine Pass back together. MELWIN! BRING ME THE GUN! I TOLD YOU WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN! BRING ME THE GUN!”


	3. The War Through the Lens Ch 3

The War Through the Lens CH 3

Melwin was dozing in the shadows of a tree when the lieutenant tapped on his boot. He was tall and Melwin guessed he had been a real looker before he entered the war. Now, he looked gaunt, drawn, and guarded with the heavy shadows under his eyes. Melwin assumed he hadn’t acquired the army’s talent of sleeping just about anywhere.  
“The gents I was talking to said you were in Rio’s platoon.”  
“Rio? Who’s Rio?”  
The man draw a deep breath and seemed to spit as he said, “Sergeant Rio Richlin.”  
Ah, Melwin thought, he’s one of those types.   
Every one of Rio’s boys knew the type. The ones that thought it was insulting to have a woman have the same title as them. The type that thought it was insulting for a woman to be a better killer, better leader, better soldier than any of them. Yes, her boys knew that type well.  
“I’m part of Richlin’s Boys, yeah. Sarge is in headquarters right now with Headquarters.”  
The lieutenant looked confused, so Harris explained, “Headquarters is one of the other girls that have the Silver Stars. There’s Sarge, HQ, and Doc. I’m sure if Sarge has a name the others do to, but most of the boys just call them their nicknames. Adds a little more mystery to the mysteries.  
“So, she’s in HQ with HQ,” Melwin finished with a shrug.  
“Take me to her,” the man said. Melwin frowned. With that attitude, the lieutenant wouldn’t get far with Sarge.  
“Sir, with all due respect, she’s in HQ, in a meeting with someone literally named HQ. I don’t think it’s a good idea to interrupt her. Sarge won’t like it.”  
“She’ll interrupt it for me. I’m her boyfriend.”  
Harris stared at him for a second before bursting out into loud, boisterous laughter. Melwin laughed so hard he attracted the attention of Evan, who ran up to them with a smile on his face, “Well, I haven’t heard Melwin laugh like that since Sarge shoved a grenade down Buckeye’s pants and forgot to tell him she didn’t pull the pin! Who are you and what have you done?”  
“Lieutenant Strand Braxton. Apparently, Rio hasn’t told you all she has a boyfriend.”  
It wasn’t a question, but a statement of the obvious fact written across Melwin’s face.  
Evan looked at him for a second, “You’re dating Sarge? You’re kidding me, right?”  
“I have been ever since she enlisted. I grew up with her.”  
“Uh huh,” Blakely said, disbelieving, “Well, sir, we hear a lot about the 119th and about what happened to them, but we haven’t heard anything about a Strand Braxton. Doesn’t surprise me much though. Sarge tells us stories about what they did so that if we get into the same predicament we’ll know what to do. To help us survive. But I guess the fact that she has a boyfriend wouldn’t help with that.”  
“I understand. Rio can be pretty private about some things. Will you take me to her?”  
Blakely looked down at Melwin for a second, who shrugged. Neither of them believed the lieutenant.   
“Yeah, sure.”  
They walked through the crowded hallways of the elementary school the army had turned into HQ . Melwin and Blakely led the way, followed by the lieutenant/boyfriend, and then the camera.  
Harris realized that if Sarge in fact had a boyfriend it would be prime shots for the camera. It would show the public that Sergeant Rio Richlin, the first girl with sergeant stripes and a Silver Star, was still a girl. This would be a highlight of newscast! It would line up a whole new batch of women that the army sorely needed.  
Blakely knocked on a door quietly before opening it. Inside, HQ and Sarge were standing by a desk, talking comfortably, the stream of their cigarettes climbing through the air.  
The moment they saw they weren’t alone, they were on alert.  
“Sorry to interrupt, but, uh… Sarge? You got a boyfriend?”  
Both of the girls looked confused, “Are you asking out of interest?”  
But then, Rio saw the lieutenant behind them, “Well, I’ll be!”  
Braxton seemed to swarm his way over to her, crushing her in his arms, and locking her in a kiss.  
HQ took that opportunity to excuse herself, stopping outside the room to tell the boys they ought to do the same, but the soldiers stayed.  
“Boys,” Sarge said, still surrounded by the lieutenant’s arms, “You’re excused.”  
“No ma’am. You all seem to need a chaperone. And you can’t close the door for propiety’s sake so looks like we’re—“ Blakely was suddenly talking to a door.  
The two boys looked at each other for a quick moment before they both rushed to put their ear to the door. They could just make out what the two were saying.  
“What are you doing here?” Richlin asked.  
“Can’t I come see my girl?”  
“Not when you use my boys to get here! Strand, I spent weeks for to get them to respect me. It’s not as easy as it looks.”  
Braxton said something to warbled for the boys to pick out.  
“I didn’t ask to be made sergeant, Strand. I didn’t even ask to be made corporal.”  
“Yet, here you are.” Richlin didn’t answer. “I heard about the mission, Rio.”  
“What about it?”  
“Three girls and a platoon going into hostile territory? It’s a suicide mission.”  
“The girls and I have been through worse,” she said comfortingly, “Besides, we make a good team.”  
Braxton stayed quiet.  
“Is this really about the mission? Or because of the Star?”  
“Of course it’s about the mission!”  
“You haven’t written me since then.”  
There was silence before, “I needed to get my head around it.”  
“Around what? Me getting an award?”  
“I shouldn’t have let you sign up,” Strand said suddenly.  
“Excuse me?”  
“I shouldn’t have let you sign up. The award… You only got that because you’ve killed people.”  
“I’ve killed people. Yes. I will continue to do so, as well. That’s war. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be doing it, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have gotten the Star.” Rio’s voice seemed to have filled with venom.  
“Of course not, I just…”  
“You just what, Strand? You just what?!” She was screaming now, they both were. Harris and Evan didn’t have to put their ears to the door anymore.  
“I shouldn’t have let you be in this position! I shouldn’t have let you come! I should have made you—!“  
“Made me what?! Stay at home? Do dishes? Write you sappy letters about how I want you back home, with me, safe and sound? Should I be warming your bed, Strand? Should I be doing that instead of defending my country? Should I be doing that instead of going to save people trapped in a death camp?”  
“You know that’s not what I meant, Rio! I should have made you be safe! I shouldn’t have let you put yourself in a position where you have to be put in harm’s way!”  
Rio laughed hysterically, “You know why that bothers you so much, Strand? Me being in harm’s way bothers you because it doesn’t scare me. I’m calm in a battle. I take whatever is thrown at me. And it reminds you of how much of a coward you are!”  
“A coward?!”  
“Yes! Yes! You’re only in this war because you were drafted! You only got up the courage to so much as ask me out because you were going away soon!”  
A sharp slap sounded through the wall and the sound of the desk scraping angrily against floor.  
It took Evan and Harris about a second before they had the door open, but then they stopped.  
Richlin, their sergeant, was still leaning against the desk from where she had slammed into it. Her head was still angled towards the door where the boys could see her shocked face. Lieutenant Braxton’s hand was still raised, and the camera was still rolling.  
Strand let his hand drop to his side, and looked at Evan and Harris, “This doesn’t concern you.”  
The boys didn’t move.  
They waited for their sergeant’s orders. Waited for her to order them to beat up Braxton, waited for her to command them to throw him out of HQ.  
Rio stayed perfectly still, until Strand turned towards her, “Rio.”  
It was an order of his own. An order to get rid of her watch dogs, an order to obey him, and Rio took it.  
“Get.”  
“But, Sarge—“  
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get!” she yelled at them, pushing on Evan’s chest to knock him out of the room and slamming the door.  
The boys left the compound, but stayed outside of the old elementary school. The others gathered around them, and by the time that Lieutenant Braxton stepped outside he was met with a pack of twelve boys.  
But all he did was smile at them and tilt his hat. Then he turned back to Rio, grabbed her by the side of her face that wasn’t bruised, and kissed her goodbye with a kiss that wasn’t proper for being out in public.  
He walked away, and all Rio did was look at them before heading back inside.


End file.
